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Party of Five

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Party of Five
File:Party of Five title card.png
Intertitle
Created byChristopher Keyser
Amy Lippman
StarringScott Wolf
Matthew Fox
Neve Campbell
Lacey Chabert
Scott Grimes
Paula Devicq
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Michael Goorjian
Alexondra Lee
Jeremy London
Jennifer Aspen
Opening theme"Closer to Free" by BoDeans
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes142 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time43–45 minutes
Production companiesKeyser/Lippman Productions
Columbia Pictures Television (1994–98)
Columbia TriStar Television (1998–2000)
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseSeptember 12, 1994 (1994-09-12) –
May 3, 2000 (2000-05-03)
Related
Time of Your Life

Party of Five is an American television teen drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994 to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by Scott Wolf as Bailey, Matthew Fox as Charlie, Neve Campbell as Julia and Lacey Chabert as Claudia Salinger, five siblings whom the series follows after the loss of their parents in a car accident. Notable co-stars included Scott Grimes, Paula Devicq, Jeremy London and Jennifer Love Hewitt. While categorized as a series aimed at teenagers and young adults, Party of Five explored several mature themes, including substance and domestic abuse, cancer and the long-term effects of parental loss.[1]

Despite receiving positive reviews from television critics after its debut, including TV Guide naming it "The Best Show You're Not Watching" in 1995,[2] the series suffered from low ratings during its first and second seasons, during which speculation arose that it would soon be cancelled. However, in 1996, Party of Five won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama, after which ratings and popularity grew for the majority of the remainder of the series.[3] A spin-off starring Hewitt debuted on the network in 1999, Time of Your Life, which was cancelled after one season.

Synopsis

The show, set in San Francisco, centered on the five Salinger siblings (the "party of five" referenced in the show's title), who become orphans after their parents are killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. 24-year-old Charlie (Matthew Fox) is the eldest, a womanizing, immature manual laborer who struggles with the responsibility of being the new head of the family. 16-year-old Bailey (Scott Wolf) is the once-rebellious teen turned responsible caretaker—and later-turned-substance abuser. 15-year-old Julia (Neve Campbell) is a sensitive teen; 11-year-old Claudia (Lacey Chabert) is a precocious child prodigy; and baby Owen is barely one year old.

The siblings take over the running of their family's restaurant, Salinger's. Charlie initially serves as bartender and manager, and later Bailey takes over. The struggles the Salingers face over the years include Charlie's battle with cancer in Season 4, Bailey's battle with alcoholism in Season 3, Julia's dealing with domestic violence in a relationship in Season 5, and the long-term effects of parental loss.[1]

As the series progressed, romantic relationships became plot points and new cast members joined the show, including Jennifer Love Hewitt as Bailey's girlfriend Sarah, Jeremy London as Julia's bad-boy boyfriend and later husband Griffin, and Paula Devicq as Owen's nanny Kirsten, who developed an on-again-off-again relationship with Charlie throughout the series.

Cast and characters

Main cast

  • Matthew Fox as Charlie Salinger; (ages 24–30) the first-born sibling who struggles to live his own life in the reluctant role of legal guardian to his brothers and sisters. Immature and insecure, he dropped out of college his senior year to "find himself" and was planning to re-enroll when his parents' death put him as legal guardian to his younger siblings.
  • Scott Wolf as Bailey Salinger; (ages 16–22) the second-born sibling who is forced to grow up fast and deal with life after his parents' death.
  • Neve Campbell as Julia Salinger; (ages 15–21), highly intelligent, emotionally sensitive teen who struggles to adjust to being an orphan and having more responsibilities to the family.
  • Lacey Chabert as Claudia Salinger; (ages 11–17) a gifted violinist struggling to build a life for herself and also deal with being an orphan.
  • The role of the youngest, Owen Salinger; (ages 1-7) was recast three times as the character grew. He was played by Alexander and Zachary Ahnert in the pilot episode, Brandon and Taylor Porter as an infant, Andrew and Stephen Cavarno as a preschooler, and Jacob Smith until the end of the show. His character was aged faster than real time, in a television process known as "SORAS-ing," when he was rapidly aged from infant to preschooler.
  • Paula Devicq as Kirsten Bennett Thomas Salinger (seasons 1–2, 5–6, recurring otherwise); graduate student who is hired as Owen Salinger's nanny, and becomes romantically involved with Charlie off-and-on during the whole series.
  • Scott Grimes as Will McCorkle (seasons 1–2, 6, recurring otherwise); Bailey's best friend from high school.
  • Michael Goorjian as Justin Thompson (season 2, recurring otherwise); Julia's friend, and later boyfriend, during the series.
  • Jennifer Love Hewitt as Sarah Reeves Merrin (seasons 2–6); Bailey's sensitive, off-and-on girlfriend from high school who struggles also to "find herself".
  • Alexondra Lee as Callie Martel (season 3); Bailey's roommate during his first year at college.
  • Jeremy London as Griffin Chase Holbrook (seasons 4–6, recurring seasons 2–3); moody and troubled teenager whom Julia becomes involved with. Older brother of Jill Holbrook. The character was originally portrayed by James Marsden in one first-season episode.
  • Jennifer Aspen as Daphne Jablonsky (season 6, recurring seasons 4–5); a part-time "erotic dancer" who becomes involved with Charlie and later has his baby.

Supporting cast

The following lists all actors who appeared in five or more episodes during the run of the show.

2

Production

The show was created by the team of Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman and produced by Columbia Pictures Television (CPT) and High Productions. CPT would later be folded into Columbia TriStar Domestic Television, which soon afterward became Sony Pictures Television. In March 2009, Sony began streaming the third season of the show on Crackle.[citation needed]

Nielsen ratings

Season Episodes Timeslot (ET) Season Premiere Season Finale Rank Rating
(Households) 		Viewers
(in millions)
1 22

Monday 9:00

Wednesday 9:00

September 12, 1994 March 15, 1995 #125[4] 6.2[4] —
2 22

Wednesday 9:00

September 27, 1995 March 27, 1996 #96[5] 7.1[5] —
3 25

Wednesday 9:00

August 21, 1996 April 2, 1997 #82[6] 7.4[6] —
4 24

Wednesday 9:00

September 17, 1997 May 13, 1998 #56[7] — 11.5[7]
5 25 Wednesday 9:00 September 16, 1998 May 19, 1999 #70[8] — 10.1[8]
6 24 Tuesday 9:00 October 5, 1999 May 3, 2000 #113[9] 6.6[9] 6.135[10]

Home releases

On April 27, 1999, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the season 2 episode "The Wedding", the season 3 episode "Intervention", and the season 4 episode "Richer, Poorer, Sickness, and Health" on VHS.[11][12][13]

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released all six seasons of Party of Five on DVD in Region 1 between 2004 and 2013.[14][15][16][17][18][19] Seasons 4 to 6 are Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) releases, available exclusively through Amazon.com and WBShop.com and only in the US. In Region 2, Sony has released the first two seasons on DVD.[citation needed]

In August 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including Party of Five.[20] They subsequently re-released season 1 on DVD on June 24, 2014 followed by season 2 on January 6, 2015.[21][22] On January 5, 2016, Mill Creek released a complete series set featuring all six seasons of the series, available together for the first time.[23]

In January 2016, it was announced that Hulu had acquired the rights to every episode of the series.[24]

DVD Name Ep # Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 DVD Special Features
The Complete 1st Season 22 May 4, 2004
June 24, 2014 (re-release) 		N/A May 5, 2006 Audio Commentary On Selected Episodes.

The Making of The Series.

9 Behind The Scenes Featurettes with the Cast and Crew

The Complete 2nd Season 22 December 20, 2005
January 6, 2015 (re-release) 		February 14, 2007 Audio Commentary On Selected Episodes.

Documentary on the Series Featuring Jennifer Love Hewitt.

The Complete 3rd Season 25 March 25, 2008 N/A N/A Minisodes
The Complete 4th Season♦ 24 March 5, 2013 N/A N/A None
The Complete 5th Season♦ 25 July 2, 2013 N/A N/A None
The Complete 6th and Final Season♦ 24 October 1, 2013 N/A N/A None
The Complete Series 142 January 5, 2016 N/A N/A None

Due to licensing issues, the majority of the music from the original broadcasts have been replaced on the DVDs. The new music was handpicked by the original music supervisors from the series.[citation needed]

♦ - Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b "Party Of Five Fares Better Than 'On Our Own'". Chicago Tribune. September 12, 1994. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  2. ^ TV Guide Book of Lists. Running Press. 2007. p. 212. ISBN 0-7624-3007-9.
  3. ^ VanDerWerff, Todd (July 22, 2013). "Party Of Five is the great forgotten drama of the '90s". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Complete TV Ratings 1994-1995". Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Complete TV Ratings 1995-1996". Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  6. ^ a b "Complete TV Ratings 1996-1997". Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  7. ^ a b "The Final Countdown". Entertainment Weekly Published in issue #434 May 29, 1998. May 29, 1998. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  8. ^ a b "TV Winners & Losers: Numbers Racket A Final Tally Of The Season's Show (from Nielsen Media Research)". GeoCities. June 4, 1999. Archived from the original on October 29, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  9. ^ a b "Complete TV Ratings 1999-2000". Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  10. ^ "US - Jahrecharts 1999/2000". May 30, 2002. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  11. ^ "Party of Five: The Wedding (VHS) (1994)". Amazon.com. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  12. ^ "Party of Five: The Intervention (VHS) (1994)". Amazon.com. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  13. ^ "Party of Five: Richer, Poorer, Sickness, and Health (VHS) (1994)". Amazon.com. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  14. ^ "Party of Five - The Complete Second Season (1994)". Amazon.com. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  15. ^ Lambert, David (February 23, 2004). "Party of Five - Season 1 announced, including WINNING Cover Art!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  16. ^ Lambert, David (January 4, 2008). "Invitation to a Party at Last! 3rd Season Set Coming in March, 3rd Season Arrives 2¼ Years After The 2nd Season!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  17. ^ "Party of Five DVD news: Update about Party of Five - The Complete 4th Season - TVShowsOnDVD.com".
  18. ^ "Party of Five DVD news: Box Art for Party of Five - The Complete 5th Season - TVShowsOnDVD.com".
  19. ^ "Party of Five DVD news: Box Art for Party of Five - The Complete 6th Season - TVShowsOnDVD.com".
  20. ^ "Site News DVD news: Mill Creek Licenses 52 TV Shows from Sony for Low-Cost DVD Release - TVShowsOnDVD.com".
  21. ^ "Party of Five DVD news: Release Date for Party of Five - Season 1 - TVShowsOnDVD.com".
  22. ^ "Party of Five DVD news: Announcement for Party of Five - The Complete 2nd Season (MCE) - TVShowsOnDVD.com".
  23. ^ "Party of Five DVD news: Announcement for Party of Five - The Complete Series - TVShowsOnDVD.com".
  24. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (January 9, 2016). "Hulu Inks Multi-Year Licensing Deal with Sony: Acquires 'Dawson's Creek,' 'Party of Five,' More". Variety. Michelle Sobrino. Retrieved April 9, 2016.

References

  • John J. O'Connor. "Trying to Make a House a Home". The New York Times. October 17, 1994. p. C16.
  • Brenda Scott Royce. Party of Five: The Unofficial Companion. Los Angeles: Renaissance Books, 1998. ISBN 9781580630009. OCLC 37392928.
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